Mission Statement
The Purpose of the Racial Justice Mission Group is to awaken the NH Conference to issues of racial justice and equality within our churches, state, and country. We are called to be:
- LEARNERS in a community of mutual accountability studying the impact white privilege and the history of slavery has on racism;
- INTERRUPTERS of the continued cycle of racism; and
- ALLIES with People of Color in challenging race-based injustice in the areas of criminal justice, environmental degradation, economic deprivation, and exclusion from full participation in our communities of faith.
Learning & Planning:
At our monthly meeting at the Conference Center, the agenda always includes learning, as well as, planning action steps. We organized almost 2 years ago and welcome new members. Those interested should contact Dawn Berry, email dcbnh@comcast.net.
Past Trainings:
The Racial Justice Mission Group has lead workshops at the annual Prepared to Serve. Workshop titles include: White Privilege, Implicit Bias, Racial Reparations, Beyond White Supremacy, Building the Beloved Community, and the History of African American Spirituals.
We hosted a One Conference: One Book initiative in which 33 UCC congregations engaged in the study of white privilege using our discussion guide. In follow up, we facilitated a workshop on White Privilege at the 2017 Annual Meeting.
The Racial Justice Ministry Group members and colleagues from around the state were inspired and energized at our pre-Annual Meeting full day workshop with Keynote Speaker Bishop Dwayne Royster. He engaged and challenged us to articulate what racial justice might look like in NH!
Not to be missed:
- The NHCUCC Weekly News article introducing a new One Conference: One Book initiative with the Rev. Deborah Knowlton’s book, “Color Me Included”.
- April 6-8, 2018 are the dates for the New England Women’s Conference Celebration X A Place at the Table with Rev. Traci Blackmon as keynote. Two members of our group will present workshops and the Rev. Renee Rouse will be a keynote presenter.
- May 23, 2018, we are co-sponsoring with the Clergy Support Ministry, a Clergy Day, Beyond Preaching Black History Month, with the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson as presenter.
- A June Field trip to Portsmouth is planned for the African American Heritage Trail and the site of the burial ground of the enslaved, as we prepare for finding and honoring burial places of African-American enslaved in other NH towns.
Members of the Group: Dawn Berry, John Gregory-Davis, Maggie Fogarty, Carol Howard, Eric Jackson, Barry Jacobson, Gail Kinney, Ethel McConaghy, Renee Rouse, Cathryn Turrentine, and Janet Zeller.
Download a flyer with this information.